Written By krishna on Monday, April 04, 2011 | 5:42 AM

Jairam writes to Sheila on waste-to-energy plant

Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has instructed senior environment officials to meet the residents protesting against the upcoming Okhla-Timarpur waste-to-energy plant and look into their reservations about the plant. “I met the resident representatives on Friday and instructed that they submit a formal representation to the Ministry about their problems with the upcoming waste-to-energy project and the bio-medical waste incinerator which is already functioning in the area. The officials will review the project and suggest any action that requires to be taken in this case,” said the Minister.The Minister on Friday also wrote to Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit stating that he had instructed the protesting residents to approach the State Government. “Their grouse is that the State government does not listen to them. Clearly a better public outreach programme on the part of the State Government and the company implementing the project is needed,” the Minister said in the letter.

Residents meet Ramesh over waste plantAggrieved residents of Jamia Nagar and Okhla colonies met Jairam Ramesh, union minister of environment and forests, to point out serious legal violations concerning the Okhla waste-to-energy plant and asked him to take cognisance of imminent public health crisis facing the residents of the area. The residents submitted a letter to him. They pointed out that the waste to energy incinerators were coming up in manifest violation of the order of the Supreme Court. The order was shared with the minister. Responding to these grievances, the minister deputed Bharat Bhushan, director, MoEF, to meet the residents again later in the week to comprehend the situation arising from incinerators which are known to release toxic gases and particles. The residents appreciated Ramesh's statement "MoEF should not have given an environment clearance considering that no proper public hearing was held".

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20110404/delhi.htm#8

HC asks ministry to end Bhatti mines deadlockThe Union environment and forests ministry will now take a call if a part of the Batti mines is fit to be developed as a garbage dump. The ministry has been asked to step in by the Delhi court after Delhi government objected to MCD's decision to identify pits in the mines as proposed landfill sites. Saying the capital was under threat of turning into one large "garbage dump" the civic agency had sought land on the city's outskirts to manage garbage. Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw asked the centre to find out if there is any possibility of the Bhatti mines area being used as a landfill site without it posing an environment threat to the wildlife sanctuary — as claimed by the state government. For this purpose, the ministry has been directed to come up with its stand even as the HC wondered how mining was permitted earlier in the same area when it was a wildlife sanctuary, if now this ground is being invoked to stop a garbage dump from coming up.

The Environment Ministry has lifted the moratorium on considering new projects for environmental clearance in eight more critically polluted industrial clusters including Angul Talchar in Orissa and Panipat in Haryana. Thus, the Ministry has lifted the moratorium in some 20 of the 43 industrial clusters based on the recommendations of the Central Pollution Control Board on the remedial actions taken by the respective State Governments.